Ankur Tohan

Practice Areas

Ankur Tohan is a partner in the firm’s Seattle office and a practice group coordinator for the firm's global Environment, Land, and Natural Resources practice group. Ankur’s practice focuses on energy infrastructure and natural resource development, compliance counseling, and defense of governmental and citizen enforcement actions. With an emphasis on renewable energy development and carbon management, Ankur advises a variety of industries on issues related to land-based and offshore renewable energy project development, siting, permitting and developing carbon capture and sequestration projects (nature based and Class VI injection), advising industrial and agricultural entities on the impact of shifting carbon policies, negotiating easements/leases for carbon capture and sequestration projects, and negotiating carbon removal and carbon credit contracts.

In addition, Ankur works with clients on a broad range of complex regulatory, permitting, and enforcement matters, under federal and state laws, related to wildlife and natural resource management, pollution control, and cleanup of hazardous wastes, including the following: Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), Clean Water Act (CWA), Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA); Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA), Clean Air Act (CAA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), Comprehensive, Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), and Model Toxic Control Act (MTCA).

Professional Memberships

Clean-Water Act Handbook, Pre-Treatment and Indirect Dischargers, contributor/editor

ELI - Law of Environmental Protection, Clean Water Act, editor

Washington State Bar Association

Washington State Bar Association, Environmental and Land Use Section, Newsletter editor

Northwest Environmental Business Council, Board of Directors member

Publications

“Offshore Wind Auction Results Portend Difficulties In Gulf,” Law360, 12 September 2023

“Washington State Puts Environmental Justice At The Forefront,” Law360, 5 July 2023

"U.S. Supreme Court Issues Landmark Clean Water Act Decision, Significantly Narrowing the Scope of ‘Waters of the United States’ Under Federal Law,” Thomson Reuters Westlaw Today, 8 June 2023

“Proposed Regulations to Improve Offshore Wind Lease Auction Processes and Timelines,” ALI CLE’s The Practical Real Estate Lawyer, May 2023

“A Significant First Step For Pa. Carbon Capture Programs,” Law360, 5 April 2023

“How Proposed BOEM Regs Will Boost Offshore Wind Projects,” Law360, 1 February 2023

“What To Expect From Biden Admin.'s NEPA Updates,” Law360, 12 May 2022

“Carbon Dioxide Shortage in the United Kingdom,” Pratt’s Energy Law Report, May 2022

“California Offshore Wind Ramping Up,” Pratt’s Energy Law Report, May 2022

“NY, NJ Lease Auctions Highlight US Push For Offshore Wind,” Law360, 10 February 2022

"Vacatur Of Trump Water Rule Means More Uncertainty Ahead," Law360, 29 September 2021

“Bridging the GAP Between Environmental Assessments and Carbon Reduction Mandates”, Washington State Bar, Environmental and Land Use Section, 19 August 2021

“Chapter Six: Pretreatment and Indirect Dischargers,” The Clean Water Act Handbook, Fourth Edition

“Chapter 13. Clean Water Act”, Law of Environmental Protection (Environmental Law Series), 2021-1 Edition

“2019 Offshore Wind Handbook”, October 2019

“Permitting for Energy Projects on Washington’s Coast,” NWLawyer, July/August 2017

“When States Fail To Act On Federal Pipeline Permits,” Law360, 24 July 2017

Co-Author, CEQ Issues Final Greenhouse Gas Guidance Directing Federal Agencies to Consider Climate Change in Their NEPA Reviews, Pratt’s Energy Law Report, Vol. 16-9, October 2016

"FWS Bat Intake Rule Won't Drive Project Developers Batty," Law360, 25 January 2016

“Greenhouse Gas Regulation in Washington: What the Clean Power Plan and Washington Clean Air Rule Mean for the State,” Environmental & Land Use Law Newsletter, Washington State Bar Association, Vol. 41, No. 3, November 2015

Education